Taken by the Border Rebel
by xsilver-galaxyx
Summary: Black Robert Goren takes the daughter of his enemy hostage after a chance encounter and the future of these families are changed forever. (Historical AU)
1. Part I

_A/N: This was written for the M&B/Harlequin fic fest at unconventionalcourtship on Dreamwidth and is based on the blurb for a Harlequin novel also called 'Taken by the Border Rebel'. The first sentence of the fic is actually true, however the rest is completely AU._

_Blurb: TORMENTED BY HER INNOCENCE As leader of his clan, Black Robert Goren has earned every dark syllable of his name. But, having taken hostage his enemy's daughter in a fierce act of rebellion, he is tormented by feelings of guilt and torn apart with the growing need to protect her - and seduce her! Alexandra Eames feels Robert's disdain from the first. Then slowly she starts to see behind his eyes to a man in turmoil. Something he has no words for, something that can only be captured in a heart-wrenching kiss... The Goren Clan The family who will kneel to no one..._

* * *

During the aftermath of the Great Revolt in the reign of King Henry II, William of Scotland was forced to surrender five key castles as part of the Treaty of Falaise in exchange for his freedom. Two of these castles, and their surrounding lands, had been under the control of the Goren clan for centuries and they were furious to learn that William had given them away without any thought as to compensation for the clan. But after his defeat William would not consider giving the Goren clan the men or the resources that were needed to take back their land from the English. So the clan leader, Patrick Goren, promised his people that they would take back their land, with or without Scotland's help and then even if it took one hundred generations, the land would return to Goren control one day.

Over the next hundred years, generations of Gorens and their clansmen fought to reclaim the land. The family ignored their responsibilities towards Scotland as they doggedly pursued their goal. They were considered outlaws and rebels, ones that Scotland preferred to ignore, but that England could not. After Henry took the Goren castles for England, responsibility for maintaining the border and ensuring that the land remained under English rule was given to a Lord Eames, whose descendants continued to battle to hold back the Gorens. Over time, the English kings also lost interest in the castles, but the Eameses continued to fight, determined not to lose to the rebellious Gorens.

* * *

It had been three months since the Gorens and the Eameses had last met on the battlefield. There had been heavy losses on both sides, but it had been the Gorens who won the battle that day, reclaiming the smaller of the two castles and the land in the immediate vicinity, albeit not for the first time. Over the past century control of the castles had been in the hands of both families at varying times, although the Gorens had never been able to hold them for long. But the people who lived in the troubled region were starting to believe that that was going to change.

The Gorens had always been the more vicious fighters, but the Eameses had had the numbers and the leadership to resist. And whilst the Eameses still had the numbers, the leader of the Goren clan had shown in recent years that he was very different to his ancestors and that he posed a real threat to his enemy, John Eames.

John Eames was getting older, but still insisted on leading his troops, determined not to rest until the Gorens were defeated or he was dead. All his life he had been taught that it was his job to do whatever was necessary to ensure that the two castles and land remained under English control. A hatred of the Gorens flowed through his veins and coloured everything that he did. But his hatred caused him to underestimate them, believing them to be vicious barbarians that lacked the intelligence to formulate any strategy beyond the use of violence to win a battle. John's youngest child, and only son, Charles was his second in command, riding by his side and taking a key role in the war room in preparation for the day when he would take over the role. He had inherited his father's determination to repel the Gorens and hated the clan just as much as any Eames leader ever had. But he recognised that the current leader of the Goren clan was different and that the sheer number of soldiers that the Eameses controlled was not going to be enough anymore, new approaches to warfare were going to need to be taken in order to defeat this man.

Black Robert Goren.

The youngest son of William Goren, Robert had not been expected to become leader of the Goren clan. But a war injury had forced Frank Goren, William's oldest son, off the battlefield. Unable to lead his troops, Frank had not been seen by anyone except his immediate family and their servants since that day, although he was still loved and admired by their people. He had been the favourite of both his parents, although William had died a number of years ago from a seemingly minor illness. Truthfully William would have hated the idea that Frank was no longer leading the clan and that Robert was doing so instead, having always considered his younger son inferior and often making it publically known. But there had been no choice, for Frank had no legitimate children and Robert was next in line to inherit the leadership, with there being nothing about Robert that William and Frank's supporters could use against him to stop him from taking on the leadership.

But whilst the people still loved the oldest Goren brother, they knew that it was Robert who could win the fight against the English. As well as being a naturally gifted soldier, Robert had transformed the military that he commanded, introducing methods of fighting and warfare that had never been seen before, at least not by the clan. He seemed to be able to predict what moves John Eames was going to make, having studied every battle that his enemy had taken part in, as well those of previous Eameses, specifically John Eames's father and grandfather. He frequently sent scouts across the border and would often venture out himself, much to the dismay of his advisors. It was one thing to lose a leader in battle, it was another to lose him because he was caught wandering in enemy territory. It was actions such as these that had made William and Frank's supporters wonder about Robert before he became leader, but with his achievements since Frank had been injured none of the people thought to question him.

Across the border, Black Robert Goren was considered a brutal, vicious, bloodthirsty killer and John Eames did nothing to stop the stories that were told of him. That Black Robert wouldn't stop with the two castles and that he wanted the throne of England for himself. Such stories helped to motivate his own men. Although Eames had fought Frank in battle, he had yet to fight Robert, although he had seen him at a distance. He had seen that he was an efficient soldier, not wasting any more time than necessary on one enemy before moving onto the next and he was training his men to be the same. John's loses in the previous battle had shown this, but it was going to take time to train his own men in the same way. He knew that with Robert holding one of the castles there would be pressure on him to recover it as quickly as possible and he could only pray that by the next battle, his men would be ready.

* * *

A frosty wind blew across the field, but Robert didn't notice as he focused instead on the land that lay before him. This had been the battlefield for the last encounter between his men and those of John Eames. Although the clan had been the victor on the day, reclaiming the smaller of the Goren castles, he had still lost far too many men and needed to determine what he could do differently next time. Nudging his horse forward, he pulled the reins back to stop it when they reached the middle of the battlefield. Closing his eyes for a moment, he tried to picture it before the battle had started, when each army was waiting in formation for the order to go.

The land was closer to the larger castle, the one that Eames used, which had given him the starting advantage. A battle closer to an army's base was no doubt riskier, but it also made it easier to move troops and meant that they were less likely to be tired from a long journey. Robert wondered how he could use this to his advantage. Certainly having claimed the smaller castle he didn't want to waste time and give Eames's army a chance to recover before the next battle and would therefore need to continue his offensive as soon as possible. But he needed to push further into Eames territory; this wasn't a battle he was able to fight close to his own base.

The horse shifted restlessly underneath him, eager to move on, but Robert paid it no heed, continuing to stare into the distance as though he could still see Eames's army. He was suddenly brought out of his musings when he saw movement on the horizon.

He immediately gathered the reins in his hands and shifted his weight forward, ready to make a quick escape if necessary. He was perilously close to enemy territory and he could not allow himself to be caught. He always insisted on revisiting the site of any battle after the event, even when Frank had been leader and he had only been a soldier. But whilst the behaviour was tolerated previously, his advisors were now outright against it, not wanting to risk Robert when there was no one in a clear position to inherit leadership of the clan. However he didn't listen, arguing that it was worth the risk if he was able to figure out what they could do differently the next time.

It was two people on horseback, moving quiet slowly. He was too far away to tell for certain, but they didn't appear to be soldiers. It surprised him that anyone other than soldiers would be so close to the battlefield so soon after it and, his curiosity peaked, he slowly eased the horse into a trot. As he got closer he could make out that one of the riders was a woman, her skirts draped over the side of the horse. The other wore the colours of an Eames soldier and Robert assumed that he was charged with guarding the woman. Clearly however the man wasn't doing his job, for Robert knew that he was sufficiently close to the pair that the man should have noticed him, but he showed no signs of being aware that they were not alone.

Daringly he continued to get closer, slowing his horse to a walk and then stopping when they came near a small grove of trees. Hiding amongst the shadows of the trees he watched them come closer, watching to make sure that soldier didn't see him but focusing mostly on the woman. As soon as he was able to see her face he instantly recognised her. Alexandra.

Alexandra Eames. The eldest daughter of John Eames. Most men would have been surprised to see in a woman in a place like this, but to Robert it immediately made sense. Although outwardly she was the perfect noble born daughter, she also acted as a key advisor to her father and was always in his war room with his other advisors. For Robert, unlike Frank and his father, it hadn't been enough just to know about John Eames. He wanted to know everything about every person that was in John's inner circle of family and advisors, and that was how he had discovered the truth about Alexandra.

Not many people knew that Alexandra was one of her father's advisors, only their family, his most trusted advisors, Robert and his small circle of advisors. As John's eldest child, Robert had no doubt that she would have been a considerable threat to him in the future, had she been born male. But she was a woman and it was difficult for many people to accept a woman advising a man, especially on military matters, which was why it was such a closely guarded secret, but Robert had quickly learned why John was willing to overlook such conventions.

It was only once Robert had taken over leadership of the Goren clan that he had had the opportunity to learn of Alexandra's role. William and Frank had made limited efforts to learn about John, and to an even lesser extent Charles, but had ignored John's wife and two daughters, dismissing the women as irrelevant. Robert had argued that this was a mistake and had been vindicated when he had discovered the extent of Alexandra's involvement. She was extremely intelligent, outspoken and able to look at a problem in an ordered, methodical manner. Robert knew that she was behind some of John's smaller attacks on the clan and he suspected, although he hadn't been able to prove it, that she may have accompanied her father to the battlefield and remained hidden away in one of the tents.

Take every opportunity. It was one of the few lessons that Robert could remember his father teaching him. There are no second chances in battle so don't let anything pass you by. One of the key advisors of his enemy, and his daughter no less, virtually unprotected. Robert knew that he was never going to get another chance like this. He doubted that any of the Gorens that had come before him had had a chance like this and he couldn't let it pass.

Pulling out his sword in readiness, he watched the two closely. When he was certain that the soldier was sufficiently distracted he urged his horse forwarded, bursting out of the shadows of the trees and racing towards them. Ignoring Alexandra for the moment he focused on the soldier. Before the soldier even had a chance to draw his own weapon Robert plunged his sword into the man's chest, then dragged it up as he pulled it out. As soon as the sword was out the soldier toppled from his horse, dead before he hit the ground.

To her credit, Alexandra didn't scream as she watched Robert kill her guard. She stared in shock for a moment as the body fell to the ground, before frantically kicking at her horse, realising that she needed to get away from this man as quickly as she could. But the soldier's horse, in a panic after losing its rider, kept moving in front of her and rearing, frightening her own horse. It only took seconds, although it seemed like hours, for her to get away but it was too late. Her horse had barely started galloping when the reins were snatched from her hands and she was pulled into line with the other horse.

"Black Robert," she spat, recognising the Goren clan leader, "You shouldn't be here, this is our land."

"You shouldn't be here either, it could be dangerous," he countered, reaching across and dragging her onto his horse. It would have been easier with two horses, but he couldn't run the risk that she would regain control of her horse or try to jump from the animal and run, so she would have to ride with him.

She refused to stop struggling all the way to the castle, kicking at Robert and screaming for help. By the time they arrived at the Goren castle, the two horses and the dead soldier had been discovered, and the Eameses knew that Alexandra had been taken. There could be no questioning who was responsible.

* * *

Alexandra knew that she would be considered valuable by the Gorens. The child of an enemy, even a daughter, could always be used as a negotiating tool. But she also knew that that it was merely a chance encounter that had given Black Robert the opportunity to take her and that it was not something that he could have planned. She did not regularly ride out to that particular spot and she had only decided that morning to go for a ride. Still she was absolutely furious with herself for having allowed herself to get caught. Watching the guard fall from his horse had wasted vital seconds and she should have been far more alert considering her location. Not to mention that she should have chosen a more experienced soldier to guard her and carried her own weapon to defend herself.

She didn't know yet exactly what Black Robert had planned for her and the fact that he had installed her in proper chambers only added to her bewilderment. Even once they had arrived on the grounds of the castle and she was trapped behind its gates, she had refused to stop struggling. But Robert towered over her and was easily able to force her to go where he wanted. Her only consolation was that he hadn't resorted to carrying her, instead keeping a tight grip on her wrist and forcing her to stumble after him. She was surprised when he started dragging her up the stairs, rather than down to the dungeons, and for one horrible moment she had feared that she was going to be taken to his bed. Instead she was taken to chambers that had obviously been decorated for a lady and shortly after Robert left her a servant came into the room to light a fire and bring her a meal.

Still there was no doubt that she was a prisoner. She was certain that there was no one occupying the rooms near her's and she was sufficiently high as to prevent any escape or rescue attempts. She was restricted to her chambers, the servants who brought her what she needed would not talk to her and there were always two guards posted outside her door.

After the last battle between the Eameses and the Gorens, rumours had started to circulate that Black Robert must have had spies amongst Eames's men. Goren had seemed to know what Eames was going to do, easily countering each new tactic they tried before launching one of his own. But there had also been reported sightings of Goren in Eames territory, always alone and dressed like a peasant, which had made her father doubt the claims. But after what had occurred Alexandra started to believe that there was some truth to these stories and believed that it was highly likely that Robert had been on Eames land before. She had doubted the stories that Goren had a spy amongst her father's advisors, for all the men had worked with her father long before Robert had become leader and their loyalty to the cause was unquestionable. But if he were spying on them, it would explain why he was so easily able to predict their moves, he had studied them. She wondered how much Robert had learned about their family, in particular her. Did he know that she was one of her father's advisors or did he only know that she was his daughter? She knew that her value to Robert would increase dramatically if he thought she could provide him with information about her father's plans, but she was powerless to do anything but wait for him to reveal what he knew and wanted.

Robert started to answer her questions the very next morning when he had silently appeared in her chambers, startling her as she turned away from the window. He was a large man, tall and broad, although he hunched his shoulders over, as though he was trying to disguise his size. He appeared to be an entirely different man to the ruthless leader who kidnapped her from her father's lands yesterday, and the one she had seen in battle, but she didn't trust the change. He immediately apologised for scaring her and asked her to take a seat, but she refused, not knowing what he was planning.

He started to ask her seemingly innocuous questions, were her chambers comfortable, where the servants looking after her, could he bring her anything. She couldn't help but answer that last question by saying that if he could please bring her a horse she would be leaving, which did earn her a small smile. He accepted the unspoken challenge in her answer and started to ask her about her father, basic questions that Alexandra was certain he already knew the answers to. She tested her theory, giving him incorrect information and watched him as he processed it. She could tell that he knew she was lying to him, but he didn't say anything, just moved on to the next question.

But then, almost as suddenly as he had arrived, he left her chambers. He had been testing her, she was sure, watching to see how she responded to his questions, especially about her father. He had studied her so intently, his eyes never leaving her and she felt as though he was able to see right through her defences and into the depths of her soul and that she couldn't hide anything from him. He would be back and she knew that she would have to make sure that he wasn't able to see anything she didn't want him to see.

As she had expected, he appeared in her room the next morning. Alexandra made sure she was ready this time, showing no sign of surprise when she saw him standing in the door way. Again he asked after her comfort and whether she needed anything, but this time she held her tongue, wanting to see where he was going to take this conversation on his own. He started to ask her questions about her own life and that of her brother and sister. It was obvious from his questions that he knew much more about them than anyone in the Eames court would have suspected and it only provided further confirmation for Alexandra that Robert had been spying on them. She was puzzled that he didn't ask more questions about Charles, surely the Eames heir would be of greater interest than two daughters, but she certainly wasn't going to volunteer any additional information. Still, she had the feeling when he left that he had gotten far more from the conversation than she had been aware of or intended.

The following morning her brother and sister had been forgotten and all of Robert's focus was on her. Her childhood, her education, what she had read. He asked her whether she was betrothed and why a woman of her age wasn't married. He turned vicious at this point, insulting her, trying to break her but she refused to give in. She sat there, stony faced, as he ridiculed her. He turned her attention back to the events in the battlefield, asking what sort of fool she was to return to the place of battle with only one guard for protection. A guard that obviously had never seen battle and was completely unaware of his surroundings. He questioned whether her father cared for her, as he would have known better and shouldn't have allowed her to go to the field, let alone so unprotected. Or perhaps she was a disobedient daughter, sneaking out of her father's castle to do things that no young lady should.

This comment pushed Alexandra's patience too far and reaching up she went to slap him, but he caught her wrist before she was able to make contact. Still gripping her wrist tightly, he lent down and said softly, "Don't ever raise a hand to me."

Dropping her wrist, he started to walk out of the room. Before he reached the door, he stopped and said, "I won't waste any more time. Tomorrow we'll talk about your role."

With that comment Alexandra knew that he had been aware of her role in her father's court all along and that the real interrogation was going to begin.

Any pretences of a civilised conversation were thrown away the next morning when Robert arrived at Alexandra's chambers for the interrogation. And it really was an interrogation. Gone were the questions about whether her chambers were comfortable and her childhood. Gone too was the man who stood with his shoulders slightly hunched to make himself seem less intimidating, it was Black Robert who was standing before her, the man she had seen on the battlefield. He fired questions hard and fast at her, exactly how many men did her father command, what weapons did they have at their disposal, who in England was willing to support them. Once again she lied to him but he wasn't going to accept her lies this time, slamming his fist down and demanding the truth. Still she refused to give in, telling half truths and feigning ignorance.

It was a gruelling session and Alexandra collapsed in relief on the bed when it was over. Robert had asked her the same questions again and again, trying to catch her when she wasn't being entirely truthful and she was mentally exhausted from trying to keep track of what she had told him. He hadn't held back because she was a woman, which she begrudgingly respected, and she knew that he had questioned her just like he would have questioned any other enemy. She knew that in the end, between her exhaustion and his ability to read her, he would have found out more than she had intended and she could only hope that he hadn't learned anything that would harm her father's cause too much. That night she dreamt of their conversation and when she woke she wasn't sure what she had dreamed and what was real.

He didn't come to her chambers the next morning and although Alexandra was grateful for the break she was quickly bored, locked in her chambers without his visit to break up the monotony of the day. But Robert had realised that she was not a woman who was content to sit in her chambers with nothing to do and had sent up a number of books for her to read. When the books had arrived she had thought that they would be simple books, chosen so as to not tax a woman's mind, but she was delighted to find that they were books on history and religion, topics that she had discussed with Robert. It confused her that he would care enough to bother, but she wasn't about to send them back.

Her respite didn't last, for he returned the next morning. Not knowing what to expect, she watched him carefully as he flicked through the book that she had left open on the table.

"Thank you for the books," she said.

"I thought you would enjoy them," he replied, giving a small smile and Alexandra suddenly had the impression that he now knew her better than she had ever suspected.

He sat down at the desk and started looking at the titles of the books she had stacked in one corner. She started to relax as she realised that wasn't the same Black Robert who had interrogated her two days earlier, although it still wasn't the man who had asked her about her childhood. He was something in between, but she felt certain she could manage him.

Robert suddenly turned in the chair to face her, resting his elbows on his upper legs and clasping his hands together. "Why?" he asked.

Alexandra looked at him sharply, not understanding what he was asking.

Realising that she hadn't been privy to his thoughts as he had been looking through her books he clarified, "Why are you an advisor to you father? Surely there are men with experience in battle who would be better suited to the job. To involve his own daughter, surely your father knows what could be said of him."

She knew that she could give a long explanation to Robert, talk about her education and experience and how anyone who questioned her presence soon learned why she was there and how if they didn't then they probably weren't worth having as an advisor. But she decided to keep it simple. "I'm good at it. We're winning aren't we?"

Finally she had rendered Black Robert speechless. He stared at her for a moment, with something akin to admiration in his eyes, before turning and leaving the room, without saying a word to her.

Every day for the next few weeks he came to her chambers. Sometimes he would ask her of her father's tactics, whilst other days it just seemed like he wanted someone to talk to. Far from what she had been raised to believe, that all the Gorens were vicious, unintelligent, blood thirsty killers, she found that Robert was incredibly intelligent, interesting and well versed on a range of topics. Whilst she hadn't seen the battle facade of Black Robert again, she felt that he was hiding behind a different facade, although it was starting to weaken. She mentally scolded herself for such thoughts, whether he presented a facade or not to her was irrelevant.

She felt that, for whatever reason, Robert was beginning to trust her. Whether it was because he knew that there was no possibility of her escaping or for some other reason she didn't know. But there was only one guard posted at her door and the servants who came into her chambers would now answer her questions. It was through one of the maids that she learned that Robert was planning another attack again her father at the end of the month in order to reinforce his hold on the smaller castle and push on towards the larger one.

When she confronted Robert about the planned battle he didn't deny it, explaining to her it had to be done for the Goren family, history demanded it. She wanted to argue with him about it and tell him that as important as history was, the future was important as well, but she felt that it would be hypocritical to do so. After all, wasn't her family fighting for exactly the same reasons?

* * *

Robert always came to her in the morning and for the rest of the day her only visitors would be the servants. She still didn't know exactly where she was in the castle, but it was always quiet. So she was surprised one afternoon when she heard a commotion outside her chambers, with men shouting and running through the halls. Curious to find out what was happening, she moved closer to her door, but before she got there it was slowly pushed open.

An older woman poked her head around the door, and seeing that Alexandra was the only person in the room, quickly scurried inside, closing the door behind her. The woman was wearing a nightdress and her feet were bare. Long grey hair hung knotted over her shoulders.

"I need to hide," she whispered, "They're trying to kill me." She picked up a tall candlestick holder and, brandishing it like a sword, stood near the door.

Alexandra had no idea who this woman could be. She obviously wasn't a servant and despite what she had said she didn't think that the woman was a prisoner. She tried to get the older woman to tell her more, who she was, what she was doing here, but she couldn't get any coherent responses from her. Instead the woman kept talking about people wanting to hurt her and that she needed to get away from them. She started to suspect that the woman was mad, but that didn't answer the question of who she was or where she belonged.

The older woman must have heard the footsteps before Alexandra, because her grip on the candlestick holder suddenly got tighter and she swung it back in preparation. The door opened and Robert stalked into the room.

All the fight seemed to disappear from the older woman when she saw Robert and she dropped her weapon. "Bobby?" she asked, sounding as though she were on the verge of tears.

"I'm here," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and walking her back to the door.

"They were trying to kill me," was the last thing Alexandra heard the woman sob before the guard shut the door after them.

She still had no idea who the woman was, but Alexandra felt that she had just seen a side of Robert that very few people ever witnessed. And whilst Black Robert and the harsh interrogator were personas that he needed to be a leader, Bobby was real. He wasn't trying to find something out or achieve something for himself, what he had been doing was selfless, and all for the benefit of the woman. She felt that what she had just witnessed had been played out many, many times before.

When a maid came into her chambers to deliver her evening meal, Alexandra tried to ask her about the strange woman, but the maid just shook her head and said that she didn't know what she was talking about. Alexandra felt certain that the woman was lying but didn't pursue it, knowing that the woman was not going to betray any secrets to a prisoner. She doubted that she would ever see the woman again, so she reasoned that it was none of her concern who she was. Despite this she was still intensely curious as to who the woman who was able to bring out that side of Robert could be.

It was late into the evening when Robert returned to her chambers; startling her as he had the first time he had come to question her. He nearly always came to her rooms in the morning and he had never come after dark so Alexandra knew that there had to be a good reason for it. He looked exhausted, his hair sticking out in every direction as though he had been running his hands through it and his normally impeccable clothes were rumpled and creased.

The woman was his mother, he explained. She wasn't well, mad in fact, and often believed that people were spying on her or wanted to hurt her. On her good days she knew that she could trust her nurse and the few servants who attended to her, but on her bad days, the only person she would trust was Robert. Her chambers were secure, and she only left them when Robert was able to take her outside, but she was quite resourceful and would on occasion find ways to escape. Usually when she escaped Robert found her in some small dark hiding spot. So the fact that she had hidden in Alexandra's chambers showed that for whatever reason she had felt that she could trust Alexandra, which Robert had never seen before.

He told Alexandra that his mother had always been different, but that she had started to get worse when he was about ten years old. By that stage his father had been ignoring her for years; he had gotten what he wanted from her, and was focused on the war against the Eameses and his mistresses. After William Goren died, it was only through Robert's intervention that his mother was cared for, like his father Frank was not interested in caring for his mother, despite being her favourite son.

She had drifted from the people's awareness over the years and whilst they knew that she was still alive, they assumed that she had chosen to live out her later years in seclusion. They had no idea what had really happened to her, and they couldn't find out. It was well known that madness ran in families and it would be seen as a weakness that others could exploit, either by spreading the information to the clan's enemies, or by using it to overthrow him. He needed Alexandra to promise that she wouldn't tell of today's events to anyone.

Robert knew that he was taking a risk in telling Alexandra the full story. If he had consulted any of his advisors they would have said to tell her that it was just one of the servants, or not tell her anything at all. After all she was a prisoner, she wasn't owed any explanations, whether she understood what was happening in the castle around her was irrelevant. But Robert felt that she did deserve to know and, more importantly, that she could be trusted. Partially he trusted her because he had her trapped; there was no one she could tell. She had no way to tell her father and he only had his most trusted servants sent to her chambers. But there was something more than that, something about her told him that she wouldn't tell anyone, even if she did had the opportunity. She seemed to recognise that his mother's illness was something personal that should not be brought into their families' fight.

When he had told her, Alexandra had forgotten for a moment that he was keeping her prisoner and that they were supposed to be enemies. All she saw was a man in pain, sharing a burden that he had carried on his own for so long. She made a promise to herself that on this matter, she would keep his confidence. It would serve no purpose to tell anyone, not even her father, and before he left her room that night, she made that promise to Robert.


	2. Part II

The entire castle was on edge the day of the battle. Every servant who came to her chambers knew someone who would be fighting. It was strange she thought, that for all the time Robert had spent questioning her about her father and his army, they had never really acknowledged that there would be further battles, beyond the one time she had confronted him about today. It was almost as though the matters they were discussing were entirely theoretical. It was easy for her to think of battles between the Eameses and the Gorens when she had been securely in the Eames camp. Now that she knew Robert, she no longer saw the battles in black and white. She couldn't see Robert as an enemy who was to be destroyed at all costs, because she knew him and he was far from the man she had been taught he was. She wasn't even sure what she wanted the outcome of today to be, save that everyone she knew survived.

She restlessly paced her chambers, desperate for any news. She knew that no-one was going to come to her and tell her what was happening but she hoped that if something major had occurred she would at least hear the servants talking about it. She wasn't used to being so uninformed. For her entire adult life, she had spent every battle in her father's war room or in a tent near the battlefield and was there when messengers came from the front line to give updates on what was happening. She thought about her father and her brother and hoped that they would survive the battle unharmed. She tried to distract herself with books, prayer, she even tried sewing but her mind kept wandering back to the battle. She wished that her chambers faced in the direction of the battle, so she could at least see when Robert and his men returned, but the chambers that Robert had placed her in faced inwards, and she suspected that this had been a deliberate manoeuvre when he had first placed her there.

Finally, towards nightfall, there was a commotion in the courtyard that her window overlooked and Alexandra saw that the men had returned. She wasn't able to see Robert but there were wounded everywhere and servants were racing about, delivering food, water and bandages. She could hear the cries of men dying and she hated that she wasn't able to go down and help them, even if they were the enemy.

She was starting to think that she should demand to be taken downstairs to assist when there was a knock at the chamber door. Without even waiting for Alexandra to respond the man, one of Robert's advisors, let himself in. He told her that the battle was over and that Robert wanted to see her, although he didn't say why. In all the weeks that she at been at the castle, she hadn't been allowed to leave her chambers, Robert had always come to her. She wondered what had changed that he would now tell her to come to him. The thought briefly crossed her mind that he was injured, but she could barely imagine such a thing occurring. She then started to wonder whether something more sinister was about to happen. Whether the battle had gone in Robert's favour or not, perhaps he had decided that she could be of more benefit to him than simply a prisoner. A small part of her insisted that he wouldn't do that, but her tactical mind said otherwise.

When they arrived at Robert's chambers she couldn't help but walk warily towards him and glanced back when the advisor pulled the door shut behind him. She thought that she saw a glimmer of hurt flash across Robert's eyes when he saw her walking guardedly across the room.

He wanted to be the one to tell her, he explained, rather than having her hear it through rumours from the servants. Her brother, Charles, had been wounded and captured by Robert's men and was currently being kept in the lower levels of the castle. His advisors wanted the Eames heir to be executed, as a message to his father, but Robert had held them off. With two of the Eames children under his control he wanted to see if they could negotiate a truce between the two families.

Alexandra was too stunned by what he had told her about Charles to take in anything about a potential truce between the families at that point. She was about to ask whether she could see him when Robert told that he thought she should care for Charles, if she was able. He felt that her brother would do better if he had family caring for him, rather than servants of his enemy. She immediately accepted and followed him to where her brother was being kept. Robert carefully chose the route he took, not wanting to expose her to the atrocities that he and her father were responsible for unless absolutely necessary. He knew that she had seen it before, but he felt the need to protect her from seeing any more horrors.

The room that Charles was being kept in was heavily guarded and no servants were allowed in, only soldiers. Robert explained that a physician had seen him and done what he could, but that his injuries were severe. He told her that she could have whatever she needed for his care and told the guards at the door that she was not to be denied anything. With that he left Alexandra with Charles, and she started to clean the blood and dirt from her brother's face.

Rather than immediately returning to his chambers, Robert made his way through the narrow passageways that crisscrossed the lower levels of the castle until he was at the back of the room where Charles Eames was being held. Quietly moving some stones, he was able to look down into the room and watch Alexandra care for her brother. Although the passages had been built to spy on prisoners and find out what they knew, that wasn't Robert's purpose in watching Alexandra, he just needed to see her but knew that he wouldn't be welcome during her reunion with her brother.

Charles had been silent when the physician was attending to him and even when Robert brought Alexandra in he had feigned sleep. But once Robert had left Charles had turned to his sister with a pained, but joyful smile. It was a bittersweet reunion between the siblings, both beyond happy to see the other but wishing that it was under better circumstances. Not seeming to care for his own injuries, Charles immediately ran his eyes over his sister, looking for any sign of harm done to her. He asked whether she had been treated well and whether Black Robert had done anything to harm her. Since she had been taken there had been rumours as to why the leader of the Goren clan had taken Alexandra, most of them dishonourable and he awkwardly asked whether her virtue was still intact.

Robert was furious at this suggestion, although he knew that such rumours existed. Whilst he had had mistresses when he was younger, no one had shared his bed since he had become leader of the clan and certainly no one had ever been there against her will. Still he continued to watch the pair and was pleased when Alexandra defended him, saying that since she had been brought to the castle he had been perfectly honourable, although he been quite ruthless in his questioning of her.

Alexandra asked about the rest of their family, their sister and mother. When she asked about her father Charles told her that her disappearance had been hard on him and it had only made him more determined to wipe out the Gorens. It was difficult to tell in the darkness but Robert was certain that Alexandra had frowned in disapproval at this new development, perhaps remembering what he had told her about wanting a truce. When Charles had last seen their father during the battle he was unharmed and Robert made a mental note to tell Alexandra that her father had walked away from the battle uninjured.

The effort of conversation was obviously starting to have an effect on the injured Charles and he soon fell silent. Alexandra continued to care for him, bathing his skin and changing the bandages, whilst she softly spoke about her time in the Goren castle. She didn't tell him anything of consequence, instead focusing on trivial matters like the fabrics in her chambers and the books that she had read. Knowing that he had seen far more than he should have and feeling strangely guilty that he had taken Alexandra away from a loving family; Robert replaced the stones and stalked back to his chambers to have a drink.

Once she was certain that Charles was asleep, Alexandra asked one of the soldiers guarding the room to take her to Robert. When he tried to refuse she reminded him that Robert had told them that she was to have anything she wanted and that what she wanted was to be taken to Robert. Realising that she was right, the soldier took Alexandra half way to Robert's chambers and gave her directions for the rest of the way, not wanting Robert to see that he had left his post outside Charles's door.

The second time Alexandra entered Robert's chambers she wasn't afraid and looked around with interest to see what the chambers said about the man. The furnishings and decorations were minimal, as though they were rooms given to guests, which was not what she had expected. Although simple, the furnishings were obviously of a very high quality and she couldn't help but envy some of them.

She hadn't been announced by any of the servants so she had to search through the chambers to find Robert. She discovered him sitting by one of the windows, nursing a cup. She cleared her throat to get his attention and when he wobbled trying to get to his feet she recognised that he was inebriated.

She wanted to thank him, she told him, for what he had done for her brother and for allowing her to take care of him. It wasn't something that he was under any obligation to do and it mean so much to her. But Robert waved off her gratitude, saying that he should have been able to do more.

He always got this way after a battle, once he had made arrangements for the injured and dead and spoken to his advisors, he would return to the privacy of his chambers. This was the first time anyone had seen him like this and it didn't concern him as much as he expected that it was Alexandra. It seemed as though he was revealing all of his secrets to her.

Without any prompting on her part, Robert started telling Alexandra what had happened that day on the battlefield and that her father had escaped injury. Neither side held any more nor any less land than they had held that morning before the battle had begun. There any been no real advancements for either family and whilst he now held the Eames heir, that was a result of accident rather than design. Much like his capture of her.

The drink had loosened Robert's tongue and he started to tell Alexandra things that he wouldn't have told her an hour ago. He told her of the men that he had seen fall today, some dead before they hit the ground and others dying a slow, agonising death. Some of them were still boys, twelve or thirteen years old, but they had all seemed so young. Robert was by no means an old man; in fact some would still call him young, but this fight, and the responsibilities that came with it, were starting to take their toll and age him prematurely, as evidenced by the grey scattered through his hair.

If he had his way, he told her, he would relinquish the land and any claim the clan had over it back to England, leave it in the control of her family. But it wasn't an option, his family's honour and history demanded that he keep fighting for it, and that his sons and his sons' sons keep fighting for it until they were victorious. For countless generations his family had demanded that other families in the clan send their children to fight for this land. It had become a way of life for them but no mother ever wanted to see her son go. He could no longer see the value in it.

He felt like this after every battle, he admitted, and it got worse every time. But there would be another battle soon, her father had to do something now that Robert held two of his children, and Robert would have to lead his men once again.

Alexandra didn't know what to say to Robert after hearing his confession. She got the feeling that he had never told anyone that he felt this way. After all, who was he going to tell? He couldn't tell any of his advisors because it would undermine his authority and she doubted that even on a good day his mother would understand what he was telling her. His life was so lonely that he had to share his secrets with the daughter of his enemy. It made Alexandra ache, deep within her, to think about it.

She started to stutter a response, not knowing what she was going to say, but needing to at least attempt to comfort him. She knew that she shouldn't care, but she did. However he interrupted before she was able to finish what she was attempting to say.

He stood up and walked over to her, with no sign of the instability that had been there only minutes before. She didn't need to say anything, he told her, it was enough that she had listened to him. There was no-one else he could really talk about this with he confessed, confirming her earlier beliefs. But her, her he could talk to. He was starting to feel that he could admit anything to her because, even when she didn't say anything in return, the simple act of telling her made him feel as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

If the men who were competing to be named his heir knew what his life was really like as leader of the Goren clan Robert said, he doubted that anyone would actually want it. But whilst he would happily give up the leadership if he were able to, there had been one good thing to come out of his time as clan leader which he did not want to sacrifice. Her. "Alexandra," he murmured, running his fingers down her cheek.

She was the bright spot in his otherwise grey existence. Every morning he hated having to meet with his advisors before he was able to go to her chambers to talk with her. When news had reached him of her brother's injuries, his first thoughts had been for her, rather than what this could mean for the clan. She was constantly on his mind and he didn't want to let her go. And with that he leaned down and kissed her.

The kiss started tentative and gentle and Alexandra could feel Robert's fingers lightly resting against the tops of her arms. But the passion that he felt for her soon overwhelmed him and he poured everything that he felt for her into the kiss. Wrapping his arms around her waist he lifted her up against him so she was of equal height. She didn't even realise that they had moved until she felt her back slam into the wall. Threading her fingers through his curly hair she returned the kiss with equal fervour.

But when he dragged his mouth away from her's to kiss down the line of her neck and started to pull her dress away from her shoulder to access more skin she was brutally brought back to reality. They shouldn't be doing this, as much as they might want to. Muttering something about checking on her brother, she pushed Robert away from her and ran from the room. As she ran down the hall she heard a crash as something was thrown against the wall and whilst she wanted to turn around and go back, she knew that she couldn't.

* * *

Charles Eames died from his injuries a week after Robert kissed Alexandra. After that night she had barely left Charles's side, only leaving the room when Robert would take her by the hand and force her to return to her own chambers to get some sleep. But despite all of her care and attention his injuries were too severe and Charles died as Alexandra was changing his bandages. The body was cold and stiff by the time the servants could convince her to leave and she watched stoically as they prepared her brother for his final journey home. Robert made all the arrangements for Charles's body to be returned home for burial, however there was never any mention of Alexandra leaving.

Their daily talks had ceased once Charles had arrived at the castle since all of Alexandra's time and attention was devoted to him. But Robert had tried to see her at least once a day, under the pretence of checking whether she needed anything for Charles to avoid any awkwardness. The kiss they had shared had resulted in a profound change in their relationship that she didn't care to admit to. Still it was there to see for anyone who cared to look. But once Charles died he had stopped seeking her out, the guilt eating away at him. He had taken the guard away from her chambers, giving her silent permission to roam the castle as she pleased and he would meet her in the passageways, but nothing more. When they met Alexandra would try to reach out to him, but he would walk away from her, too wrapped up in his own sorrow to notice her attempts.

Robert knew that ultimately he was responsible for Charles's death and he couldn't bear to face Alexandra knowing that he was the cause of her grief. They would never know who delivered the fatal blow, but Robert felt that it might as well have been him. He obsessed over it, whether he could have done more to help Charles or whether he should have left him to the care of his family. But nothing he was thinking would help Alexandra. She was trying to be brave and never cried in front of the few people who saw her, but at night when Robert was restlessly pacing the corridors, he would stop by her chamber door and hear her sobbing. He wished he could go in and comfort her, but he doubted it would be welcome.

Two weeks after Charles Eames died, Frank Goren died. The clan was told that he had finally succumbed to the injuries that had prevented him from leading the clan. In truth he had fallen down a flight of stairs, breaking his neck. Although Robert hadn't witnessed his brother's death he could still smell the alcohol when he viewed the body and knew exactly why Frank hadn't been able to navigate the stairs. He had always known that alcohol would ultimately kill his brother; he just hadn't expected it to be like this. Whilst he had been angry with his brother for the decisions that he had made in his life, and the impact that they had had on him and their mother, he still loved his brother and mourned his death.

The sorrow and guilt that he felt as a result of Charles's death was only compounded by Frank's. As he had done in the aftermath of Charles's death, he started to wonder what he could have done differently for Frank that would have prevented this event from occurring. He did what he had to do in arranging the funeral, but after Frank was buried, he retreated to his chambers. The servants brought him everything he needed, although food was frequently sent back barely touched, and he stopped wandering the halls at night.

As the weeks went passed, Alexandra gradually began to cope with her grief. She no longer cried for her brother every night and she started to take advantage of her newly given freedom, exploring the castle and assisting with the care of the men who were still wounded. But Robert continued to sink deeper and deeper into a world of depression and guilt. It didn't take long for the clan to notice that their leader had secluded himself away from them. This, combined with the death of Frank, who was loved by the clan, left everyone feeling insecure and scared and they started to wonder what this was going to mean for their future.

It didn't take long for Alexandra to recognise what was happening around her. When she had first been brought to the castle, Robert had been careful to ensure that only the most trusted servants attended to her, ones that knew to hold their tongues. But with her increasing freedom and presence in the castle, she was seeing servants who were less inclined to hold back what they wanted to say, especially to each other. They were afraid that Robert was abandoning them, leaving them open to attacks from John Eames or other even other clans. It was obvious that Frank had been the favourite brother amongst the clan and Alexandra even heard people speculating what would have happened if he had still been leader and Robert had been the one that died.

But there was also discontent brewing in the castle. Whilst most of the servants were deep in mourning for Frank and recollecting what a wonderful leader he had been, a small group of servants, those who worked closely with Robert and who had cared for Frank during his final years started to defend Robert. Whilst they would never say exactly why Frank wasn't the wonderful leader that so many thought he was, they would defend Robert, extolling all that he had done in his time as leader. Some couldn't help but hint that there had been more wrong with Frank than a war injury, although no-one had ever been brave enough to explain exactly what that was.

This split amongst the castle, although not large, did have the potential to grow and Alexandra knew that it was not something that Robert could ignore forever. Talk amongst servants could easily spread to the general population, and if this kind of division were to seep into his army, the results could be disastrous. Even if there had not been divided support for each brother, she knew that the grief that was being exhibited for Frank was to have an impact. It seemed like many of the people had always felt that Robert's place at the head of the clan was only temporary and that Frank would one day recover and return to his rightful place. Such beliefs were not only dangerous for the strength of the army next time they went into battle, but they also threatened the stability of Robert's leadership.

Charles's death only added to the problem. To have captured the Eames heir had been an enormous win for the Goren clan. Only a selected group of individuals had known of Alexandra's capture, which was why she was able to move freely throughout the castle without any objections. Most people assumed that she was a visiting noblewoman, rather than a prisoner. For those who did know her true identity, she was not considered to be sufficient threat to keep locked up, especially after Charles had died. If Robert allowed her free passage within the castle, they weren't going to object.

But within hours of Charles's capture the news had spread throughout the clan. Whilst Robert had not wanted to make any announcements about Charles until they knew whether he was likely to survive but the other men had not had the same reservations and the news had reached the castle before Charles had arrived. After the capture of the smaller castle only a few months earlier, the capture of Charles had caused tremendous excitement amongst the clan. They believed that this signified that they were finally coming to the end of the battle with the Eameses. The Goren clan now held one of the two castles that were in dispute plus the Eames heir, surely this was a sign that they were winning.

However the loss of Charles, so quickly followed by the loss of Frank, was a devastating blow and the clan's view started to change. Perhaps this was the end of the battle with the Eameses, only the Goren clan was not going to win.

Alexandra knew that something needed to be done, but there was no sign of any movement near Robert's chambers. The only people that went in and out were the servants, and she knew that none of his advisors had been in there in weeks. If it was left for much longer the clan might never recover from this.

Gathering her courage one evening she intercepted the maid who was taking Robert his evening meal, meaning to deliver it herself. She was dismayed to see that Robert barely reacted when she entered the room, flatly telling her to leave the meal on the table and not turning in his seat at the window.

"Robert," she started, after putting the meal down and taking a step closer to him.

There was something desperate in the way he looked at her. He had spun around the moment she had spoken, instantly recognising her voice. She felt an urge to reach out and take his hand, but ruthlessly pushed it aside to focus on her reasons for coming to him.

He couldn't go on like this, she told him firmly. There were cracks starting to appear in the clan and it wasn't going to benefit anyone if they continued to grow. The clan was in mourning for Frank, they believed that he had been a great leader and that Robert wasn't suited for the leadership and if it continued to act like this he was going to prove them right. The clan was suffering, and they needed a strong leader who they could see to pull them through this. Maybe he couldn't see what was happening around him at the moment, but he would by the next battle if things continued in this fashion.

Robert couldn't understand why Alexandra was telling him this. He knew that the clan was at risk of falling apart and a small part of him wondered whether everyone might be better off if that did happen. But why would that matter to her? A few weeks ago he would have said that perhaps it was because she cared for him, but now? Surely her life would be better if the Goren clan did lose the power that they currently held. It would be just punishment for those responsible for her brother's death and, more importantly, it meant that she would be able to return home to her family. He hadn't said much whilst Alexandra had explained what was happening in the castle, but he couldn't hold back from asking her why she was trying to help him. "Why do you care?" he asked roughly.

She was taken aback by this question. She had been so focused on convincing Robert that he needed to take his place as leader once more that she had ignored her motives for doing so. He was supposed to be her captor, keeping her from her rightful place with her family. Surely she should want nothing to do with him and be doing everything she could to get back to her family, especially after Charles's death. It shouldn't matter to her what happened within the Goren clan. Really she should be hoping for any event which would allow her to return home. But she didn't feel that way. She thought back over all the time they had spent together, right up until the searing kiss that they had shared on the night of the battle. She hadn't thought of him in that way for a long time.

It had been there for so long, she realised. All this time Robert had been keeping her prisoner and she had been falling in love with him. But she couldn't admit it. She remembered the way that he had looked at her when he had seen her only minutes earlier and the way that he had kissed her that night. She knew that some men were only interested in having a woman in their bed, but she felt that Robert wasn't like that, at least not with her. She couldn't be sure though, and she was in no position to be taking such risks. Instead she told Robert that she didn't want to see him killed by his own people, surely an opinion that any good person was allowed to hold. She was tired of war, and of death, and she wanted it to end, but not with a massacre of his people which was what was going to occur if he didn't take action.

But Robert didn't believe her. He had seen something more in her eyes, she had come to some sort of realisation. He was certain that it was about him and for the first time in weeks it awoke an interest in him and he was determined to pursue it. He had thought before that she might have cared for him but believed that Charles's death would have destroyed anything she felt for him. It was still there, he realised and he couldn't let this chance pass him by. But he knew Alexandra, she was stubborn and would not admit her thoughts, at least not yet. So getting up, he walked across to her and kissed her. This wasn't the fiery, passionate kiss they had shared previously, instead it was gentle and loving as Robert shared with Alexandra everything that he felt for her. He hoped that even if she didn't have the words yet, perhaps she could express her feelings this way instead.

This time she didn't run when the kiss ended, but looked up at him, feeling as though they had come to an unspoken agreement. Reaching down to thread his fingers through her's, he promised that he would come to her in a few days with a plan for the clan's future, and their's.

* * *

It was a much more sober looking Robert that appeared in Alexandra's chambers a few days later. He looked like a man who had made a decision that could change all their futures and he didn't know whether it was going to be for the better.

He was tired of watching his men dying he told her. Although the Goren clan had ostensibly won the past two battles, gaining control of one of the castles and taking Charles from the battlefield, it had not been without heavy losses. His forces simply weren't as strong as they had been and they were unlikely to win the next battle. Adding to that the reduced morale from Frank's death and the loss of Charles, they could be walking into a massacre next time, and there was nothing that Robert or his advisors could think of in terms of a battle strategy that would stop that from happening, short of John Eames being in a similar situation.

Robert didn't want to put his people in that situation. It had long ago ceased to be a fight that the entire clan was passionate about, as it had been when the English king had first taken the castles. For generations now it had been a matter of pride for the Goren leaders, rather than a practicality. It didn't matter to the people who was in control of the castles or whether they were considered English or Scottish. They just wanted to live their lives without needing to send their sons off to war. If he were honest there were some villages and farms in the north of the contested lands who did not consider that the Gorens were their true leaders, although that had never had the resources to fight it. They would be just as happy to be under uncontested English or Scottish rule.

What he wanted was what was going to be best for the people. This fight wasn't about what was best for the people, it was about the pride of two noble families. There was no benefit for the people in constantly being at war, watching men die and farms suffer with no-one to run them properly. He wanted that to change, Robert told Alexandra. He wanted to be the leader who put aside family pride and thought about the best course of action for everyone. The noble families might not remember him well for it, but the people that they ruled over would be thankful when it all finally came to an end.

He then presented Alexandra with a document that he had spent the past few days painstakingly drafting. It outlined a plan for peace between the Gorens and the Eameses and if her father agreed then it would mean that no more blood would need to be spilled. He had checked the maps and each family currently held about half of the contested lands. Therefore his solution was simple, with some minor adjustments at the borders each family would continue to control the land that they currently held and relinquish any claims to the remaining land.

Alexandra thought that the plan was brilliant in its simplicity and wondered why no-one had thought of it before. Certainly there had been other occasions when the contested lands had been equally split between the Gorens and the Eameses. But then a partial victory was never enough. Each family would never have been satisfied with anything short of complete control. It seemed to her that Robert was the first leader of either family to put something other than pride first when considering the situation.

It was a wonderful plan, she told Robert, and she would include a letter to her father to tell him that she thought he should agree to it. She didn't think that he would immediately agree to it but surely once he saw all the benefits that Robert had outlined in the document he and his advisors would see that it was the best thing to do for everyone.

There was however one more part to the plan he told her. He hadn't included in the document because he wanted to see what she thought first. His idea wasn't crucial to the plan, but it would certainly aid it and help it be accepted by everyone. He hoped that she would agree with him. But it was entirely up to her of course.

It was at this point that Alexandra interrupted. Robert was getting so flustered that she wasn't sure what he was trying to say and she told him to simply tell her his idea.

He wanted to marry her he admitted. He wanted to marry her because he was in love with her and hated the thought of her not being in his life. But he knew that she might not feel the same way, not after everything that he had done to her and her family. Even if she didn't love him now though, he hoped that she could see how a marriage between their families would secure the peace that they wanted to achieve. If she agreed to marry him love could develop over time. Of course the treaty could still go ahead without the marriage and if she felt that was going to be the best way to proceed, then he would arrange for her to return home as soon as the treaty was signed. He didn't say what would happen if her father refused because truthfully he didn't want to think about it.

Alexandra didn't know what to say. Her heart was begging her to say yes, that of course she would marry him. And that she would marry him because she loved him, not in order to secure a treaty. She hated that he thought he was only worthy as a husband if there was some political benefit to the marriage and she could tell just by looking at him that that there was a part of him that felt that way. But the treaty and her family could not be ignored and her family would need to be convinced that she would be entering this marriage of her own free will and that Robert wasn't threatening her in any way. As she looked into Robert's eyes, she was determined that she would find a way.

So she kissed her. She kissed Robert and told him that she loved him and would be honoured to be his wife. She was careful to explain to him that she wanted to be his wife because she loved him, not because of any political benefits that the marriage might bring to their families. So, if this treaty fell through, then they would find another way together. Not only to make peace between the families but to be married as well.

Robert didn't think that he had ever felt as much happiness in his heart as he did in that moment when Alexandra told him that she wanted to marry him because she loved him. He pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms tightly around her and dropping light kisses on top of her head. He could finally see a future for himself now, one that he wanted, with Alexandra by his side.

He would have stayed in her chambers all evening, discussing their plans and their future, but after they had eaten their supper, Alexandra had ushered him to the door. He had kissed her passionately, trying to convince her to allow him to stay, but she had explained that she needed to compose a letter for her father. It was going to be a delicate process, convincing him that she genuinely agreed with Robert's plan for peace. She then needed to explain to her father that she loved and wanted to marry Robert, again of her own free will. She sent Robert back to his own chambers to add the final clause to his document whilst she drafted her letter. She hoped that the documents would be ready to send by morning.

* * *

Three weeks later John Eames replied. Alexandra was certain that between Robert's proposal and her letter her father would be convinced of the plan. He had always trusted her judgement in the past and now she had first hand evidence that Robert was sincere and that he wanted this for both their families. But she was wrong and John Eames whole-heartedly rejected Robert Goren's overtures of peace. He would not agree to relinquish his right to the smaller castle and he would continue to fight until each bit of land that was in contention was under secure Eames control. Furthermore, he forbade Alexandra from returning home.

He didn't believe anything she had said in her letter about Robert. It wasn't possible for a Goren to want to come to a peaceful solution with the Eameses; they wouldn't stop until they had everything that they wanted. He was sure that Black Robert had something else planned and that if the peace treaty was signed, the Eames family would be attacked from behind. And John Eames was not going to go down in history as the man who let the Gorens beat the Eameses. He felt that Robert must have broken Alexandra's spirit and extracted information about the family from her. That was the only way that the Gorens would have been able to injure, capture and ultimately kill Charles. On reading this part of her father's letter Alexandra broke down, the very thought that her family thought she was in any way to blame for her brother's death was heartbreaking.

She had been amongst the Gorens for too long, her father wrote. After what had happened with Charles, the people would no longer trust Alexandra, and she certainly couldn't resume her place as one of his advisors. It would be safer for everyone if she remained with the Gorens. But it seemed as though she had found a place for herself amongst the Goren clan and although it wasn't what he had hoped for her, John gave his blessing for Alexandra to marry Robert. It would be best for her if she a stable position amongst the Gorens, because there was no longer one for her amongst the Eameses.

She would always be his daughter and he loved her, but as much as he wanted her to come home, he needed to think about the wellbeing of the entire family and those that the ruled. She had been amongst the Gorens for too long and no one would accept that she hadn't been corrupted. It was simply too dangerous for her to return. Perhaps one day they would be able to think of an acceptable way for her to return, but not at this time.

Robert didn't know what he was angrier about, the fact that John Eames had rejected a mutually beneficial plan for peace for the sake of mistrust and pride or that he had rejected his daughter and broken her heart. But as angry as he was, knowing that he was once again going to have to face Eames in battle, as far as Robert was concerned Alexandra was no longer a pawn to be used by the two families and he wasn't going to allow his advisors to so much as suggest otherwise any longer. When he had first taken her from Eames territory it had been because he wanted to use her, the daughter of his enemy, to beat her father, to force him to negotiate or yield. So much had changed since then, his attitude towards the conflict, not to mention his feelings for Alexandra. He hadn't ever imagined that he was going to fall in love with her and now couldn't imagine using her in such a way.

He was acutely aware that she was in a precarious position, unable to return home and living in the castle of the man who was supposed to be her enemy, and her captor. He didn't know whether she had other family that she could go to, distant relatives who wouldn't be affected by the political implications of where she had spent the past months, but he was determined that she would have a home in the castle if she wanted it. Whether that was as his wife or something else he would leave to her, but he was going to make it clear to anyone who thought otherwise that she was no longer to be considered a prisoner or hostage.

Alexandra was similarly torn, although she was heartbroken rather than angry. She had been so certain that he father was going to accept Robert's offer but for this to happen was completely unexpected. The fact that he had nonetheless given his blessing for her to be married to Robert made her wonder what had been happening under her father's rule since she had been gone. In fact the entire content of his letter made her question the situation and she wondered who else had seen and had a say in the letter. During the times that Charles had been able to talk before he had died he had only spoken of personal matters, rather than political ones and she thought that perhaps there had been concerns about her loyalty at that stage, although she doubted that her brother would pay any heed to them. There was also the matter of Charles's death and who would now become her father's heir. Any legitimate contenders were distant relatives or too young to act in the role and she suspected that men in her father's court may have been fighting to be named heir.

The more that she read her father's letter, the more that he felt he was trying to tell her more than the letter initially let on. There were obstacles that were preventing her from returning home, but they would not be there forever. She wanted to return home, but that on its own wasn't enough. She wanted to help bring peace to the two families. And a marriage between her and Robert could go a long way to achieving that, or completely destroy any hope of it. That her father supported the marriage made her think that he also felt it would help achieve peace in the long run.

She locked herself away in her chambers and agonised over the decision for days but in the end her heart was convinced that marrying Robert was the right thing to do, not only for peace, but for herself as well. Now that she had admitted her feelings for him, she couldn't imagine ever marrying anyone else. If things remained as they were, no matter what was said, she would forever be seen as a prisoner and her father's people would never believe that the Gorens wanted peace if they was seen to be holding a member of the Eames family hostage. But if they were to marry, then they could show the people that they were genuine. And her loyalty to both families, the Eameses by blood and the Gorens by marriage, would mean that she would be able to play a key role in uniting the people and breaking down the long held animosity. However that loyalty to both families also meant that she was all the more determined to end the war and bring peace to both sides.

But the prospect of peace could still be years from becoming a reality. It was a sobering thought that hung over them as she emerged from her chambers to tell Robert of her decision. Whilst arrangements were made for them to be married, Robert continued to plan for the next battle against her father.

* * *

They were married the night before the battle, at Robert's insistence. He didn't want to leave Alexandra the next day without knowing that she was his wife. It was a small ceremony, attended only by the priest and the necessary witnesses and hardly the type of wedding that would have been expected of a clan leader and a noblewoman, but for the rest of their lives Robert and Alexandra would say that it had been perfect, save for the absence of their families. When Alexandra had stood before him at the altar Robert he could barely believe that what was happening was real, whilst Alexandra was overwhelmed by how much she loved him.

As they promised themselves to each other, they both knew that in many ways their future was uncertain. But they hoped that what they were doing tonight, before the priest and before God, would only bring good things to the future of their people. It could all change tomorrow but they would do whatever needed to be done. The one thing they knew for certain however, was that their love was going to last a lifetime and would endure no matter what the future brought.


End file.
